Genius Blacksmith's Game

Chairman Lee Taesung of Hansung Group.

A legend of the business world.

Back when Hansung Motors had been struggling, he had still been in his late twenties when he stood before the public and said,

“Shouldn’t our country have at least one automobile brand that can stand alongside the German Big Three?”

The German Big Three.

BenzX, AudiX, and BM.

People simply took it as the bold challenge of a young man.

That very year,

Jersis was launched—the most premium brand in the history of Korean sedans.

At first, the media had sneered, Who would buy a Korean car if it costs that much?

Then they changed their tune in an instant.

I would.

That was the attitude wealthy people across Korea began taking as they started buying Jersis.

Of course, at first it was difficult to break the solid market held by the German Big Three.

But as time passed, astonishing headlines began to appear.

—Luxury automobile brand Jersis receives endless calls of love from the American market.

—You can’t sell what you don’t have. Jersis.

Now, in 2040,

Jersis had fully established itself as a global brand. It had surpassed AudiX in sales and become a brand standing shoulder to shoulder with BenzX.

The man who made today’s Hansung Group possible.

That was Lee Taesung.

And that very Lee Taesung asked Daejin,

“And who exactly do you think you are?”

“I-I’m sorry!”

There was no way he could be anything in front of that man.

Luxury?

That meant nothing in front of him.

Lee Taesung himself was a walking guaranteed check.

That one remark also filled Daejin with shame.

I called myself luxury in front of user Hyunsoo?

He had seen countless articles saying the man’s worth exceeded several hundred billion.

Taesung, who had been looking at him, let out a faint laugh.

“Don’t worry. I don’t hold grudges.”

“......Th-thank you, Chairman!!!”

Daejin was overwhelmed with emotion.

Ahhh!

Was the chairman giving him another chance!?

Then I really will live properly from now on!

The chairman was saying he held no grudge even though Daejin had been so rude!?

Daejin was deeply moved by the chairman’s boundless magnanimity!

But a moment later...

“No, really, that employee named Daejin told our Hyunsoo he ought to become luxury first...!!”

“Is that true, Mr. Hyunsoo?”

“Yes! He even told me that if I wasn’t luxury, then I was basically no better than a useless freeloader!”

“......?”

Daejin could only watch as Hyunsoo and Taesung formed a flawless tag team and carried the matter straight to the branch manager.

He really doesn’t hold grudges...

The chairman had resolved it right there in front of him, without holding anything back.

That day, the branch manager came carrying a box.

“Pack up.”

Daejin had no choice but to put his things into it and resign voluntarily.

*****

Hyunsoo got his first car.

It was a Jersis sedan called the g88.

The person who gave it to him as a gift was none other than Chairman Lee Taesung of Hansung Group.

Hyunsoo had tried to refuse, saying it was far too extravagant a gift, but...

“I’m a businessman, boy. This may be a gift, but you’re also our company’s exclusive advertising model. The moment you start driving this car, Jersis sales will rise.”

“......Sir.”

Hyunsoo was grateful to Taesung.

You keep moving forward. I’ll protect the last Master Blacksmith.

Just like those words from the past, the chairman was still helping him move forward.

He’s embarrassed, that’s all...

Why could the chairman not simply say that he wanted to gift a car to Hyunsoo as if he were his own son?

Not long afterward—

—The car chosen by Master Blacksmith Hyun: the Jersis g88. Sales rise 400% in 3 days.

“???”

That was when Hyunsoo realized the chairman had been telling the truth.

Chairman...

Hyunsoo found himself picturing the chairman chuckling and saying, “Sales are sweet.”

The scheduled maintenance should be over by now, right?

And one of the reasons Hyunsoo had gone to look at the car after so long was because it was time for Ares’s scheduled maintenance to end.

He recalled what Nell had said.

There are rumors that a major announcement is coming this time.

Hyunsoo had been waiting for that announcement too.

The moment the clock struck twelve, the Ares servers reopened, and the notice released by Ares shook the entire world.

—Hello, this is Pureum. Following Continental War, our company...

Continental War?

For Hyunsoo, who had been the biggest beneficiary of it, that was an interesting start.

—We plan to hold Continental War: World Championship, and just as in the original Continental War, a special reward will be granted to the MVP user.

An Olympic system?

By Hyunsoo’s instincts, it seemed highly likely to become a global festival.

The downside was that the tournament appeared likely to last quite a long time.

Which meant that everyone entering it would be a high-ranker, and for that long stretch of time, they would be unable to hunt properly.

The same went for Hyunsoo.

And the final line in the notice left a strong impression.

[Invitations will be sent to users who qualify to participate in Continental War: World Championship.]

[The rewards for each MVP category will be announced through the invitations.]

The moment Hyunsoo logged into Ares, a notification rang out.

[An invitation to Continental War: World Championship has arrived.]

He clicked the invitation in his inventory.

As Hyunsoo checked the reward, his eyes sharpened.

Any Mythic-grade mineral I want...?

A desired Mythic-grade mineral meant the user would get to choose what was created.

That made it all the more special and precious a reward.

It’s the shortest path to making the artifact I want.

If the reward had just been some generic Mythic item, Hyunsoo might have leaned toward not participating.

Continental War: World Championship looked like a stage where one could gain honor.

But Hyunsoo was already the First King. In terms of honor, he had more than enough and lagged behind no one.

Then, suddenly, a certain mineral flashed through his mind.

Whatever I choose, it’ll be Mythic, right?

That mineral which had just occurred to him.

Tale Stone.

The mineral that could hold a story.

If I earn this as an MVP reward, then it will be something wholly mine.

There would be no need to use it for someone else, and no need to craft something for anyone else.

He could make only what he himself wanted to make.

A Mythic-grade Tale Stone.

And if he could pour a story into it, then Hyunsoo would make something different from what he had wanted to make ever since Twin Dragon Sword long ago.

Namely—

“The Jeoneodo.”

Like Twin Dragon Sword, it was one of Korea’s legendary swords.

And Jeoneodo also carried the meaning of an object used by a king.

It was not because Hyunsoo had become a king that he wanted to forge it.

And at last, he could also give a clear answer to anyone who asked why he had made Unparalleled out of Adamantium.

Because I needed a hammer first.

Before the Jeoneodo, the hammer came first.

And the biggest appeal was that Hyunsoo himself would be able to decide the Jeoneodo’s effect.

Also, there was no urgent need to respond to the invitation right away.

Still, whether he chose to enter or not, one thing was certain.

I need to get stronger, don’t I?

Hyunsoo took out the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng from his inventory.

It had been given to him by Andallo, the elder and herbalist who had migrated from the Kingdom of Bardrei.

He had been startled when Andallo and the spearman suddenly ran up and pledged loyalty to him, but notifications had immediately appeared.

[Andallo and the herbalists begin gathering and selling medicinal herbs from the mountains.]

[High-quality, excellent herbs begin to be supplied to the shops.]

[Spearman Amtrong begins teaching spearmanship to the soldiers.]

[The growth rate of spearmen increases by 15%.]

[The migrated citizens of Bardrei hold you in extremely high esteem.]

Good things had happened just from breathing.

And the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng that Andallo had offered him was a legendary miracle medicine.

Miracle medicines were generally things one could not obtain even with money, and they tended to be more precious than minerals.

Minerals only shine once they’ve been made into something.

And even a fine mineral gave no guarantee that a fine artifact would come out of it.

But miracle medicines contained benefits that were guaranteed.

Without even checking it first, Hyunsoo brought it straight to his mouth.

I can just confirm it by eating it.

Crunch, crunch.

The moment he bit into it, an intensely bitter taste tormented his mouth.

Gulp.

But as soon as he chewed and swallowed, something astonishing happened.

Heat spread through his body, and it felt as though strength were surging through every part of him.

[You have consumed the legendary miracle medicine, Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng.]

[Your total HP increases by 30%.]

[Your total MP increases by 30%.]

“......!?”

The effect was absurd.

Total amount by 30%?

An increase to total HP and MP.

If Hyunsoo’s HP was ten thousand, it would now rise to thirteen thousand.

That made it far more advantageous when facing others with full HP and MP.

Especially—

This means I can use things that consumed too much mana before and were impossible to use.

Through this Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, Hyunsoo could feel that he had grown vastly stronger.

Just as he was feeling satisfied—

[Ayaka: Have you been well, Mr. Hyunsoo?]

A whisper came from someone familiar.

Ayaka, the Global PR Team Lead.

She was one of the key figures who had worked with Hyunsoo to create the continental unification teaser.

[Hyunsoo: Yes. What is it?]

[Ayaka: You must have seen the notice and invitation for Continental War. Because of that, we naturally need a teaser for Continental War: World Championship. The broad story has already all been outlined, and the system will have the characters move automatically through AI, so all you’d need to do is appear in it. I wanted to ask whether you might be willing to participate.]

Oh?

Hyunsoo was impressed by the part about the AI making the character appear automatically.

That meant he would not need to film anything personally.

And on top of that—

[Ayaka: Of course, we’ll pay you too~]

Since they were paying him, there was no reason to refuse.

[Hyunsoo: Then I’ll do it.]

[Ayaka: ^^ There’s one more thing I’d like you to do.]

Hyunsoo put on the expression of There it is.

[Hyunsoo: What is it?]

[Ayaka: Please handle the narration. Ah, and please decide on a single opening line too.]

[Hyunsoo: Me?]

[Ayaka: Yes. There’s going to be a line right at the start of the opening, but it’s been hard to settle on one. If anything comes to mind, please tell me.]

[Hyunsoo: Whу would I...]

[Ayaka: Upper management approved 5 million won just for that one line~ And 100 million won is scheduled for the full narration fee. As for the appearance fee for the AI-generated performance, we’re planning to pay 200 million won.]

[Hyunsoo: I’ll do my best.]

Narration line, huh?

There was no reason to refuse if a single line paid 5 million won.

And if he did the full narration, they were even offering 100 million won, which meant he had a chance to earn a total of 300 million and 5 million won.

Hyunsoo began seriously pondering the very first line of the Continental War: World Championship opening.

*****

Ayaka.

She had not wanted to scramble like this and ask Hyunsoo for an opening line either.

Pureum conference room.

Ayaka looked at writer Lee Hyuksoo, who had handled this scenario, and spoke firmly.

“I told you that line wouldn’t work.”

Lee Hyuksoo.

Once a wildly successful drama screenwriter, and still an immensely successful writer now.

It was fair to say that the overall scenario for this teaser had been created by him.

“The story was excellent. But the opening line is bad.”

“What am I supposed to do if you suddenly tell me this won’t work?”

Lee Hyuksoo was a master in his own right, so he did not back down.

But Ayaka had something to say as well.

“It’s not sudden. The problem is that the line you brought us just a few days before the teaser is awful.”

Ayaka and Lee Hyuksoo faced off in a tense standoff.

Sejin, sitting between them, had already read the scenario.

It was a good scenario.

Why is Ayaka this angry?

Lee Hyuksoo read aloud the line that appeared the moment the teaser began.

“The Demon King. If everyone stands together, we can overcome him. What is wrong with that line?”

“......?”

“......?”

“.......”

What was wrong with it?

The moment they heard it, Sejin and the team leads all whipped their heads around and looked at Ayaka and Lee Hyuksoo, who were locked in fierce argument.

Good job, Ayaka.

Ayaka, win. You absolutely have to win!

What kind of line is that...

Everyone present had read the scenario.

Amazingly enough, the scenario began with the event category that the planning team had originally created—the one where world rankers would hunt a Transcendent species—and in that category, the Transcendent species appeared as the Demon King.

And that one opening line could control everything.

Ayaka argued passionately.

“This first phrase is what announces the beginning of Continental War: World Championship. It has to convey hope, desire, and a thrill—that the users who have worked and run all this time might one day reach even the Demon King, so long as they keep striving. But ‘If everyone stands together, we can overcome him’ is so obvious and so lame.”

Hyuksoo could not back down either.

“And because of that? Because of that, you hastily contacted Master Blacksmith Hyun and asked him to come up with a line? You’re asking some random user to write the line? I can accept him doing the narration, but I cannot accept this.”

Ayaka took one step back.

“Th-that’s...”

“Exactly! How can you expect some random user to come up with the line...!”

“......I wanted to live. Because the person who created that line was user Hyun.”

Ayaka’s voice gradually shrank as she spoke.

Everyone in the room sighed.

Because they understood how she felt.

I wanted to live.

What if that line had been used as the opening of an Ares teaser?

It would have blown up.

It had that much emotional force, and the voice used back then had been excellent too.

Of course, they could also understand the screenwriter, Lee Hyuksoo.

But there was not much time left.

And the people in the conference room also found themselves thinking this:

Can a single line really change the entire mood of an opening that much?

Then—

BZZZZZZZT—

Ayaka’s phone rang.

It was Master Blacksmith Hyun.

Lee Sejin gave a nod, and Ayaka answered.

“You’ve decided on the opening line? May I put you on speaker?”

—Ah. Yes...

His voice sounded unconfident.

But Lee Hyuksoo and everyone else in the room were professionals.

Lee Hyuksoo in particular was prepared to accept it if the line itself was good.

The reason he had clashed with Ayaka was simply because he could not believe user Hyun—who was not even a professional writer—could come up with a line like that.

Lee Hyuksoo closed his eyes.

Everyone followed suit.

When everyone in the conference room listened closely and faced the darkness—

Hyunsoo’s clear, distinct voice rang out through the room.

—Even when the earth freezes solid, when the time comes, the shoots still rise.